


Belief helps us grow my dear

by Marble_Spider



Series: The life of Feral Five and his lovely wife [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Five gets a dog, Good Parent Grace Hargreeves, Grace is gay and you can fight me, Grace is in a loving, Panic Attacks, Sentient Android Grace Hargreeves, Unplanned Pregnancy, healthy relationship wiith OC female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-01-24 10:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18569503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marble_Spider/pseuds/Marble_Spider
Summary: Lipstick smears have been showing up on Five's shirts and he doesn't understand why. Meanwhile Vanya has a panic attack.





	1. Girl things and an unexpected development

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be much darker than this thing I made.

There was lipstick on his collar again. He was never really sure when or how they got there but it seemed every shirt he wore had some color of lipstick on the collar. He knew he wasn't hallucinating it because Ben had been making comments. No matter what color the shirt there was always a stark contrasting smear of lipstick on the collar. It didn't help that there were vastly different colors either: light baby pink, hot pink, neon orange, weird blues and reds, multiple purples, on one occasion it had been a black smear.

 

The problem? Vanya didn't wear makeup. It didn't bother him since he didn't really put stock into it and knew she felt more comfortable without it. She definitely didn't wear lipstick either. So he was at a loss as to where the colorful smudges were coming from. The only thing he did know was that he wasn't having an affair and never would. He couldn't even comprehend why people did in the first place and thought it was beneath him.

 

So now he was investigating, mainly because it was Friday and he didn't have class, but also because he was curious. It wasn't snooping. Even if he technically was going through Vanya's things instead of his it was still his room so therefore not snooping. It was fine, she was at work teaching her kids about music and wouldn't know. He may have taken pictures of everything before moving it so he could cover his tracks. Which was a totally responsible thing to do in general after all he knew for a fact that Vanya kept pictures of all of their books on her phone, which she then forwarded to him, in case she found something either of them liked.

 

He decides to start with their closet first to see if she left any in her pockets. When he doesn't find anything he decides to search through her jewelry boxes and once again finds nothing. It's only when he decides to give up and assume he's delusional when a floorboard squeaks under his feet on her side of the bed that he second guesses himself. He kneels down and jimmies the board out of its spot to find a medium sized makeup bag with a handle on top. Frowning he pulls it out, opens it and is rather surprised to find tons of lipstick inside it. He realizes that all of which he's seen on his shirts multiple times when he inspects the colors.

 

He honestly isn't sure when the smears started appearing on his shirts. If he had to guess it had started about two months ago when Vanya had visited his class. He had unfortunately gotten a rather annoying student that liked to flirt with him. It didn't matter to him since he didn't indulge the girl and all of his colleagues knew how devoted he was to Vanya so he never thought much of it. Not until he got home that day and Vanya started slamming things on the cabinets while glaring at him.

 

_He flinches slightly when she slams a coffee cup down on the cabinet. “What's wrong?” He asks warily, already knowing the answer._

 

_“She's pretty.” She snaps out in reply._

 

_He gulps when he sees the windows shake a little from the vibrations of the cup. Her power leaking out from her anger. Normally he'd let her cool off by herself and listen to her instruments calm her down but she had been acting weird and he wasn't sure why._

 

_“It happens every year V, you know that. I'm not interested in anyone else and she's an annoying kid anyway. They all are. It'll die down soon. I'll talk to her if you want me to, or I could get one of my assistants to do it if that would make it better?” He tries to reason with her._

 

_He puts his hand on her shoulder to try to turn her around and smiles at her when she does. She looks up at him with pain in her eyes that he doesn't understand. He wants to sure. He knows she still has doubts that she deserves love or feels like she has to earn it somehow. Even now he's come home and caught her standing like their father wanted her to with perfect posture and a fake smile on her face. Like if she didn't then he wouldn't love her anymore. Every time she did he just raised an eyebrow at her and let her slowly remember that she wasn't on some god damned reward system. He'd smile through the mumbled apologies and kiss her forehead and her face through them._

 

_“It's just,” She lets out a long exhale neither knew she was holding in, “we're so different! I mean you're super smart and I'm just…. me. I mean everyone knows I'm married, all my coworkers know it's to you but every time I get a new class and I show them your picture and say it's to you they're skeptical and it's annoying! Then I come visit you at work just to watch your students flirt with you?!”_

 

_“V,-” He starts out only for her to interrupt him by leaning her head on his chest and curling her fingers into his shirt._

 

_“It's fine,” She mumbles against him. “I know it's a thing, and I know that you only have eyes for me but sometimes…. it's just hard. It's stupid…. We're twenty-three and happily married but I'm still acting like an insecure teenager because some girl has a crush on my husband.”_

 

_He wraps his hand under her chin and tries to keep a smile off his face. Knowing that she'll view it as him patronizing her instead of in a loving way. Tries to show how much love he has for her in his eyes when she whines at him and tries to pull her head away._

_Leans down and nuzzles his nose behind her ear._

 

_“How about we change that then?” He licks the shell of her ear and feels himself smile against her._

 

_“Fiiiivvveee.” She whines out and smacks his chest._

 

_One minute they're standing in the kitchen and she's yelling at him and the next he's attacking her throat with his teeth. Something primal in him settles as he picks her up and sets her on the cabinet. Growls against her throat and pushes her head to the side roughly._

 

* * *

 

Vanya subconsciously runs her hand over her tattoo as she paces in her classroom. She stops in front of her double sided mirror on her desk and smiles when she sees the marks on her neck that Five left. It had become a strange habit of theirs for him to leave marks on her skin. She knew that they were adults and that she probably shouldn't let her husband mark her neck up but she was selfish and enjoyed watching the shocked looks she got from others. She especially enjoyed when she visited Five in a regular shirt, her neck on full display, and watched the girls that had obvious crushes on him widen their eyes with realization when she grabbed Five by his tie in front of all to see and smirked at him just before kissing him.

 

It was fun. They had a rhythm going now after ten years of being together. They typically ordered in on fridays and had a lazy day since Five was off and she was typically tired after work. The kids were always more riled up on friday because the weekend was so close. So they were her lazy days too. Saturdays she and Five graded papers and sundays they were either grading papers still or having date night. They tried to do it every couple of weeks or at least twice a month but sometimes life got away from them.

 

They hadn't always been in as great a place as they were now. She wanted to say that dating Five had felt as normal as breathing but in reality? It had been… strange. It hadn't been weird like it was something forbidden more like it had been expected. Way more expected than she had thought. It had taken them a few weeks for them to admit their feelings for each other and when they did they were even more inseparable than before.

 

She remembers the first time they had wanted to spend the night together. How nervous she had been because unlike Five she was surrounded on all sides. Sure Klaus had soundproof walls because Reginald got tired of hearing him scream all night but everyone else's walls were thin.

 

_“I could teleport in?” He had commented like it was the most obvious thing in the world._

 

_“I know but it still makes a sound. I know we probably don't have to worry about Klaus but Diego is a freaking night owl and stays up until four in the morning stabbing his walls. Meanwhile Allison plays loud music to drown it out if she's not in Luther's room. Seriously how do they get away with that even when we're in the second timeline? Do you think it's weird? I think it's weird.”_

 

_“Vanya-” He placed his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down. Sensing her impending spiral._

 

_“There's also Ben! I mean I know he's more by you than me but we are directly across from each other and I swear he's rigged the vents somehow. Oh wait, that may have been Diego. I think? You know now that I think about it I think Ben may not have a problem with it. I'm not sure. I didn't even know I had powers until I was thirty and we all know how that went so what do I know anyway right?” Her breath came out quick and she was feeling dizzy for some reason._

 

_She felt him move her over to his desk and had her sit down in the chair. She had completely forgotten they were in his room or why they were there in the first place. Could hear him saying something to her calmer than she had ever heard him before, in that special tone he only reserved for her and a worried look in his eyes as he kneels down so they were eye level._

 

_“-It's okay. Just breathe. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. It's fine. Deep breathes. It's alright.”_

 

_“No! No, no, no, no, no. That's not! I'm not saying I don't want to! I just, I get… stuck…. in my head sometimes and it's weird and stupid and annoying and now I'm rambling and you don't want me to do that…. I'm gonna stop now.”_

 

_She heard him laughing at her and remembered getting annoyed. Sure she had gotten a fuzzy warmth inside her when he laughed but he was still laughing at her._

 

_“You think I don't get stuck in my head? I mean come on Vanya. You've literally had to drag me out of here by my ties in order to get me to eat or socialize because I've gotten stuck for so long before.”_

 

_“That's not the same.” She mumbled out. She always had thought it odd that he compared complex math to emotions sometimes but figured it was just how he explained things to himself._

 

Now they were free to go out whenever they wanted. They were married, happily in fact. Had cut off ties with Reginald when they all turned eighteen and got the hell out of dodge. Then had all met up for their respective weddings: Allison had gotten married to a guy that was very much not her first husband but they seemed to be happy and she didn't use her powers on him or their kids. Claire was still in the picture and also a twin. She was second born while her brother Colby was first. Ben and Klaus got married next and were now discussing adoption if what Ben told Five was true.

 

She and Five had gotten married last because of their anxieties. She still has issues believing she deserves to be happy and Five was always looking over his shoulder for the commission to come take everything away. When they had bought their house he installed a highly locked gun room.

 

“Just in case.” He had said with shaking fingers.

 

Now they were happier than they had ever been. She had friends outside of family and work as did he. She often held discounted lessons in their home for kids who wanted to learn music but couldn't afford the higher classes given around the city. Five was still stuck in his ways and thought that math was more important than people most of the time but he still had friends outside of work too. She honestly still wasn't sure how and was fairly positive he didn't either. Neither really questioned it though because it got him out of the house or his classroom and he seemed genuinely happy when he was around them.

 

It didn't mean that they weren't oddly possessive of each other though. Five had a habit of leaving more than just hickies on her neck. Honestly the hickies were the last and most innocent thing he left on her. She was much more used to fingerprints etched onto her hips or sides and bite marks in her skin. She often left scratches down his back or on his chest in turn. On one occasion she had wrapped his wrists up a bit to tight and he had come home saying he hadn't been able to teach all day because of it. Any time he tried to they glanced at his wrists and gave him a knowing look until eventually he just shoved his face in a book at his desk and ignored all of them.

 

_The first time he had left a hickey on her neck she hadn't even realized it. The pain had been gone by the time she got up in the morning and she very rarely looked at the tattoo on her own skin even though she touched and looked at her husbands’ quite often._

 

_“Bethy? Stay after the bell please.” She had said to one of her students when she saw the purple bruise adorning the girls’ neck._

 

_“Am I in trouble? Is it about the test because if it is then I can do better. I just didn't get enough sleep.”_

 

_“What? No, no. It's not about the test. It's just… Well you seem to have a hickey on your neck and I wasn't sure if you were aware. You may want to cover it before your next class is all.”_

 

_“Um, thanks but you may want to look in the mirror before telling us to hide ours. Especially since yours seems to be bigger than mine.”  The girl had replied with a smug look on her face._

 

_A mix of panic and confusion ran through her as she watched the girl leave both of which because Five had always been very cautious about leaving marks on her that could be seen by other people after she scolded him the first time. So for it to happen at work and for one of her kids, all of her kids, to have seen it was incredibly unprofessional. She paced in front of her desk and finally picked up her phone and called her overly possessive husband to yell at him when the last of her kids sat down._

 

_She had gotten his voicemail. Of course she did._

 

_“Mateo Five Hargreaves! I don't know what you think you're playing at but this. Is. Not. Funny! I mean seriously? Why?! Just why? Of all the inconsiderate! I can't even! Ugh! I am going to kill you!” She tossed her phone back into her purse and exhaled angrily. Closed her eyes for a deep breath only to be interrupted by someone coughing loudly._

 

_She looked up to see her very own inconsiderate asshole of a husband looking like he was both caught red handed and also like a deer in headlights. He had one foot in front of his other one like a part of him wanted to reach for her but knew better. His arms were fidgeting at his sides while his eyes scanned her face for any clues. Her students on the other hand were looking at him like he was some kind of mythical being that just popped up out of nowhere. She supposed that unless you were used to it or knew his ability then that's sorta what he was._

 

_“I'm confused… why exactly are you mad at me?”_

 

_“What kind of weird superpower shit do you have that gets random hot guys to appear out of nowhere and can you do it again?” One of her students asked from behind him while the others eye him suspiciously._

 

_She groaned and pinched her nose in frustration before she answered._

 

_“Class, husband. Husband, class.” She motioned between them as explanation. “Everyone good now? Great, because I'm going to yell at him some more!”_

 

_“Why are you mad exactly?” Five asked, stopping his fidgeting and instead looked at her like she asked him for a weird present._

 

_She tried so very hard to look anywhere else and not at him but she failed. Oh she failed so bad. That one look made a major part of her want to stop her stupid anger and a small part of her to kiss his stupid face. The ever present chalk dust was on his hands and somehow on his elbows. His sleeves were rolled up again and he was wearing a black watch on his right wrist. She could feel her anger ebbing away the more she looked at him and decided that love was stupid. Thankfully her students piped up and reminded her exactly why she was mad in the first place._

 

_“She's probably pissed because you gave her that big hickey on her neck.”_

 

_“What?! Are you kidding me! If I had a man like that I wouldn't ever complain about a few love marks!”_

 

_“Wait. Are you really mad that I gave you a few hickeys? Seriously?”_

 

_“Of course I'm mad! I mean it's not like I check my neck before we leave every morning so I had no idea I had this! We are adults and this should not be happening!”_

 

_“Okay so… you want me to stop?”_

 

_“Yes Five I want you to stop!”_

 

* * *

 

The memory echoes in her head as she throws up the sandwich she just tried to eat in the middle of teaching. She could feel their concerned stares on her as she rushes out of the room just after grabbing her purse. She hadn't been feeling well the past few weeks and had chalked it up to a random stomach bug. Well she had until Five had commented that he hadn't had to buy her ice cream lately, which she had learned was his way of saying shark week hadn't come yet.

 

So she had been responsible and had bought ten, which may have actually been twenty, pregnancy tests. Unfortunately she wasn't so responsible to have actually taken any of them yet; just stored them in her purse and under the bathroom sink for future use.

 

She's staring at six of them now in one of the small stalls. All of them are perched in a neat circle on the toilet seat and say the same thing at different variations: two solid lines, a plus, the word positive. Meaning one thing: she was pregnant. She felt like the world was crumbling around her all at once. There was absolutely no way she could care for a child. Didn't even begin to know how to change a diaper if she was being honest.  Plus there was the fact that Five doesn't even like kids.  
  
She could not care for a child. Granted they were stable now. They had friends outside of family. Didn't speak to Reginald anymore. They were close with the others now even though they all lived all over the place. She has a stable job that she loves and loves her adoring husband, who also loves his job. Which honestly begged the question of why she was freaking out over having a baby in the first place? They could do this.

 

Unless her powers got to out of control because they were based on her emotions and babies are volatile little demons anyway so really she would probably end up murdering her own child on accident because they were both upset at each other over something stupid and completely fixable. Especially since she had murdered almost all of their nannies when they were little and the one she didn't kill was because they were a robot specifically created to be able to withstand her budding powers. Yep. They are definitely doomed.

 

* * *

 

 

Five hears her words of them being adults echoing in his head as he puts the box of lipstick back in its hole in the floor and covers it back up. The particular memory had been from when Vanya first started teaching but the words still rang true. So he wasn't really sure why she felt the need to hide that she likes lipstick or that she had been putting it on his shirt collars. Maybe she was worried he'd judge her? The shirt thing is a bit weird but he’s positive she has a reason for it.

 

Regardless he needs to know the truth. He doesn't even check the time before he jumps to her classroom. He really should have checked the time. Realizes this immediately when he pops out in the middle of one of her classes to gawking teenagers and a very stressed Vanya sitting at her desk and nervously messing with the papers on it..

 

“V? You okay?” She jumps a bit in her seat at his words and blinks rapidly at him like she's catching up with reality.

 

“Oh god, you're real.” She mumbles out after finally settling.

 

“Yep. Mhmm. I'm fine. Totally. Definitely fine. It's fine. Everything's fine. It's not…. I'm not freaking out.... No, I'm fine. Completely fanatic even.” She rambles out from behind the desk.

 

“Okay? You wanna talk about whatever you aren't freaking out over?” He asks from his spot.

 

“No, because I'm not freaking out. It's fine. I'm fine. Why do have lipstick on your shirt? Oh my god you're having an affair. Yeah okay, that's fine. It was only a matter of time really. I mean ask anyone-”

 

“-What? No! I'm not…. Vanya I'm not having an affair!”

 

“Then why do you have lipstick on your shirt!”

 

“Maybe because you put it there from your weird secret stash of them that you hid under the floorboards!”

 

“Oh. Right. Yeah I did do that. It was Klaus's weird idea. Stupid way for me to mark you or something. He said it was a girl thing. It's stupid.” She sniffles out and wipes her face.

 

“Girl, you hide your lipstick under floorboards? Nuh uh! We need to have a chat pronto.” One of her students yells out.

 

“No offence but I'm pretty sure Mr. H would rather cut his own eyes out than cheat on you Mrs. H.” Another comments.

 

“Yeah. See? Thank you random student very much for that comment.”

 

“No problem teach’.”

 

“Now what is going on with you?”

 

“Nothing!” She yells out at them with oddly renewed anger. Tries to hold tears and sobs back as she starts shaking until she just falls down into her chair and gives up.

 

“It's just that I'm a horrible person and I'll probably accidentally kill them because of my powers and I've already had issues before! Plus once he finds out he'll probably try to take me away and experiment on them and then torture me or something!” Tears flow from her eyes as she's talking and only get worse with each new word that comes out.

 

“What are you talking about? No one is taking anyone away V. You aren't making any sense.” He wants to go to her, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything is alright but the windows are already shaking from her excess use of her ability and his feet are rooted to where he stands.

 

“I'm pregnant okay?! You got me pregnant and you don't even like kids! So congratulations I guess!!” Her laptop screen cracks from the pressure of her voice. Eerie silence befalls the room after. Like everyone is afraid to even move and expects something else to happen.

 

“What?” He hears himself echo out of his mouth. The word sounds hollow on his tongue and his brain feels like two random rocks rubbing against each other for friction. Trying as hard as they can to make a spark but ultimately fail to do so.


	2. Baby books, Isolde and a dog named Lefty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five doesn't understand what baby books are so he teleports... to what is not a library. Wait. Where is he? Um. This... okay he needs help.
> 
> Who does he call when he realizes he's lost? Why his mommy of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited second chapter!!!! Sorry I took so long to get this out!! Honestly wasn't sure if I'd continue this or not. Let me know how you want the next chapter to go!! I may take it into consideration!!
> 
> Reminders for this chapter:
> 
> Grace is a SENTIENT ADULT ANDROID which means she is not just a machine. She has emotions and interests just like a human. 
> 
> Yes I know in the show she's more robot than person but come on she was mapped out like a person. She can have emotions like one too!!!
> 
> This author also does not know the specifics of service dogs. Normally they would look it up but this was late so they didn't.
> 
> Good thing this is a work of fan-fiction!!!

He feels like cotton is stuffed in his ears and mouth. Like everything around him is muffled out and distorted and any words he puts out would make it worse. Isn't sure what to say to her right now. A baby? They're having a baby? How does one even comprehend a sentence like that? He's pretty sure he should be feeling happy right now. New parents feel happy when they're told they're having a kid right? It isn't there though, he just feels hollow.

 

How the hell are they supposed to raise a child? What if there's two of them? What if they figure out that their parents were raised as siblings and think that incest is okay? He knows that the world viewed them as siblings because that's what the old man wanted them to think; the rest of the world didn't view them as what they really were though: wardens and abusers of each other, one second they could be laughing with each other and the next they were forced to dole out punishment akin to torture. So uneasy alliances had been formed between them the first time around. The second time they rebelled against the treatment, abuse, and took their fate into their own hands. Trained themselves and left the bone bruising punishments behind. The truth of the matter was that yes most of them viewed the others as siblings, how could they not? The couples though? They never really had and were fine with it. The only exception being Luther and Allison who had decided that being siblings was better than lovers.

 

He wasn't sure how to explain any of it to anyone much less to his unborn children. Was fairly positive that if he did then it would cause way more drama than necessary. He couldn't stop thinking about it though. Should he even be worried? Was it weird he was worried about his possible unborn child or children dating? He didn't even know how many there were. He was fairly positive she hadn't even had her first appointment yet. Should he remind her? Was he supposed to go with her? Was he allowed to go with her? He wanted to. Wanted to be apart of all of it if she'd let him. Oh god, did she even want to keep the baby? What if she wanted an abortion? He wouldn't stand in her way if she did. It was her body after all and he wasn't a neanderthal. 

 

“I think we should burn our birth certificates.” Is what unfortunately comes out of his mouth once his brain catches up to reality.

 

“What? Wait, let me get this straight: I tell you that I'm pregnant with your child and your first thought is for us to burn our birth certificates?”

 

“....No. My first thought was to worry about them dating.” He leaves out the part about them dating each other if there are more than one out on purpose.

 

“You recognize that that's weird right? They aren't even born yet.”

 

“What you want from me? I don't know how to do this!” 

 

“Okay well can you save your existential crisis for when I get home? I still have a class to teach and we probably shouldn't be talking about this in a room full of teenagers.” He feels her hands cupping his cheeks in front of him.

 

When did she get up? When did she get so calm about this? Wasn't she the one freaking out first? He didn't hallucinate that did he? No, she had definitely been freaking out; then he had freaked out and she had a tendency to calm down and focus on him when he started up no matter what she was feeling. It was super weird sometimes how she was able to compartmentalize better than him. He assumed part of it was from feeling numb for so long in the first timeline and having to learn how to keep her emotions in check in their new one. Oh, now it all made sense.

 

“Five?” He hears her ask again like she's trying to calm a child. 

 

Damn it, he really wants her to keep the baby now. She'd make a great mom, everyone knows she's had practice because of dealing with his neurosis. He nods his head in her hands since he doesn't trust his voice at the moment. Doesn't trust himself to not say something stupid like asking if she's thinking about an abortion.

 

“Okay. Go home and if you need more information on all of this then you can look up some baby books online and get some.”

 

Baby books? Why would he need a book for a baby to read? Babies can't read. He's pretty sure they can't read anyway. They seem to stupid and dependent on other people for that. Plus he wouldn't even know what to buy. The kid wasn't even born yet and he didn't know what they would like so it seems weird to get them a book. Should he get them a night light too? When exactly was he supposed to give this stuff to the baby? The second they're out? A month after? Did Grace give them theirs after she came into the picture or was it a birth-parent ritual? What happens if you didn't get one?

 

“When do I give it to them exactly? Also do I get them a night light too so they can read it whenever they want or how does that work exactly?” The words come out quicker than his brain can process he's said them. It's probably because he still feels like it's been taken over by cotton.

 

“What?” Vanya stares at him in disbelief and steps back to look at him fully.

 

“Well we can't let them read in the dark! That's bad for their eyes and exactly why I wear contacts now!” His arms feel like they're wading through water as he waves them in the air.

 

“What do you think a baby book is?”

 

“A book for a baby?”

 

"What? No. I mean… yes those exist but that's not… What _exactly_ do you think a baby book is?"

 

"I don't know! I don't like kids! They're sticky, messy and I know I should like being around Colby and Claire since they're my nephew and niece but even they're annoying so I've never had an interest in finding out what the difference is!"

 

Five's breathing is heavy as she smiles at him and lets him collect his thoughts. He isn't sure how long it takes him to do so and is fairly positive that he blacked out at one point. One second he's standing in front of her in her classroom and the next he's outside on some random road.

 

* * *

 

"Oh no." He whispers out as he looks around, realizing that he has absolutely no idea where he is.

 

He supposes he could call one of his siblings. He tries to remember where each of them are so that he can convince them to retrieve him without Vanya knowing. No doubt Luther is somewhere taking photos since it's his job, he just isn't sure _where_ he is. All he knows is that one minute the guy is offering to take wedding photos for them and the next he can't be contacted for months because he's in some remote cave or jungle taking photos of God knows what. Granted their wedding had been years ago so the recipients and priorities of Luther's photos _may_ have changed over time and he was just blurring them together.

 

He thought about calling Diego but he and Eudora were more than likely busy at the station. Becoming police captain and your wife making sergeant kinda makes you a bit of a workaholic with all the things that need doing. 

 

Then there was Allison who, without using her powers, had become a lawyer and was working with one of the biggest judges they had around here. He didn't know their name but knew that she loved her job, for the most part, and that's what matters. He supposes he could call her husband Jeff, maybe? They didn't really talk much, which was his own fault, but the guy had bailed him out of some weird situations over the years. He didn't want to bother Jeff though knowing that it would be a fast track way of getting back to Vanya. 

 

Klaus would be his next option however he was more than likely with a patient at the moment and his phone would be turned off so he probably wouldn't get the message Five would be forced to leave until at least an hour from now. The guy was actually rather good at his job and specialized in behavioral therapy. The downside to being good at it though was that he had appointments at the weirdest times so he often made everyone leave messages, except for Ben since he had marital rights or something.

 

When he realizes he doesn't have anyone to call to come get him besides his wife he does the next best thing. Honestly it's what any thirty year old man who's going to possibly be expecting a baby soon would do.

 

"Mom, it's Mateo. I'm not sure where I am and Vanya and I kinda got into a fight… I think. Can you come get me?"

 

It takes Grace thirty minutes to get to him and when she does he is extremely confused. The first thing he notices when she got out of the car was that she had a dress on. The other thing he notices is that she has a passenger in the car already.

 

"Okay, why are you wearing a dress and who is that?"

 

"Gee honey, how about you start with: Hi mommy thank you for coming to get me even though I can teleport wherever and whenever I want to. Also you look lovely today." Grace says sternly, like he's five years old and got caught stealing a cookie.

 

"Hi mommy, you look lovely. Now who is that?"

 

Grace ignores him and clears her throat like Allison does when she wants the kids to do something they forgot. He runs through his checklist of things he was supposed to do today and none of them involve her so he isn't really sure what she's getting at. He already said she looked lovely and he really, _really_ wants to know who the woman is that she came with.

 

"Thank you for coming to get me mom." She reiterates, annunciating each word, once she realizes he forgot that bit.

 

Oh. No, no, he's not going to apologize now! Besides the fact that she's _expecting_ him to apologize. Especially not when he _needs_ to know who that woman is!  He can't see much of the woman right now but he can see that she has bright red hair, like it was dyed recently and that the sides of it are shaved. She doesn't look much older than him actually which makes him feel odd for some reason.

 

"Mateo… I believe I'm allotted a thank you now." She chides him.

 

"No." He folds his arms and turns away from her slightly to prove his point. 

 

He will not thank her, not when he can do it later and more importantly when it's not in front of an audience he doesn't know. Of course all his childish display did was have Grace swivel around him and frown at him even more. 

 

"Alright fine. You're obviously anxious because you thought I'd come get you by myself. Well excuse you mister you're not the only one who has a life!"

 

"I never said…. What? What does you having a life have to do with anything?! Is that why you're so dressed up and wearing a dress all of a sudden? Because you haven't worn a dress in years and to be honest it's kinda weird."

 

"Yes actually. I'll have you know that I was on a date and then you called me so I had to cancel it. Thankfully my date understood and even said she wanted to come with me to meet you since I've been nervous about introducing you all to her."

 

"Oh okay… wait. She? …Her? ….You're dating a girl?"

 

"Woman actually, but yes Mateo I am dating a _woman_."

 

"Why? I mean…  I'm not… it's just, I never thought that you.. um…"

 

Something chimes near them and Five nearly jumps out of his skin only to realize it was a phone. He pulls his out of his pocket and sees that it's silent as can be. He fiddles with it and goes into his voicemails and texts just to be sure only for Grace to giggle beside him. He looks up and practically glares at the woman that raised him thinking she's somehow making fun of him. That isn't the case though because it was her phone that went off and not his. Apparently her giggling was from the text she just got.

 

His mother texts now, she texts and she has a girlfriend? Friend who is a girl? Do sentient robots/androids even _do_ things? He hears the car door close once more and turns around to see his mom's girlfriend making her way to them.

 

The woman certainly did have dyed red hair with shaved sides like he thought, the middle was even poofed out into curls. Her ears were adorned with multiple piercings: two on each lobe and one on the orbital conch of her left ear while her right had a cartilage piercing with a moon and stars cuff through it. She was in a dress like Grace but that was where the similarities in their clothing ended. While Grace had on a short dark blue with flowers on it, her partner had on a long deep purple with black satin patterns. Her eyes being a dark hazel color contrasted greatly with Grace's own light blue.

 

"Hi. I don't mean to interrupt it's just… well you two were taking a long time and Grace said it may help if I come out here. I'm Isolde by the way, your mom's um-"

 

"Her girlfriend." Five says while glancing at his mother. 

 

His mother nods in affirmation and gives him a small smile.

 

"You prefer for everyone else to call you Five right? I mean I know Grace calls you Mateo but I'm under the assumption that it's normally only her that gets to do it."

 

"Y-yeah. Nice to meet you. So you're… I mean you two… she calls you Grace?" He asks looking once more to his mom who's walking towards her partner.

 

When she finally gets there she laughs a bit before answering, tries to cover it with one of her hands but he can see her shoulders shaking minutely. "Well she wouldn't call me Mom sweetheart. That would be weird."

 

"Right." He is definitely not opening that can of worms any time soon. 

 

_Nope. Not thinking about it. Don't say it. Don't say it. Do not say what you're thinking Five. You are already confused do not ask them-_

 

"So do you two _do_ things?" 

 

_Why did you have to say it?? You weren't supposed to say it!!_

 

Both women out right laugh at him at that. He feels his face heat up in embarrassment from the situation he's caused himself. He knows he shouldn't have asked. Knows it isn't _any_ of his business but this is his mother and she's a robot, android, non-human. He's just concerned that this lady, this-this Isolde person isn't making her do something she doesn't want to do. What that thing is he isn't really sure because she sure does _seem_ happy. If anything she's the happiest he's ever seen her and they've only been talking for a few minutes.

 

He watches silently as Grace and Isolde look lovingly at each other, both the same height, and felt a smile across his face. What kind of name was Isolde though? Honestly this wasn't the Aurthurian era. Ben would have fun with unpacking the woman's name though and Five could imagine all the questions Klaus and Vanya would have for her. The others would probably have their own questions but he couldn't imagine what they would be.

 

"So how long have you two been seeing each other?" He finds himself asking the happy couple. It comes out almost as a whisper, like he's afraid his voice will taint their moment.

 

"Hm? Oh um- hold on… I know this." Isolde replies glancing quickly to Grace.

 

She chuckles at her girlfriend before her eyes shimmer a bit before answering, "One year, three months, two weeks, seventy two hours, forty-six minutes, and eight milliseconds."

 

"I only have to know the year bits right?" Isolde asks sheepishly.

 

"Of course. I don't expect everyone to have my memory. I am _more than human_ after all as you so like to put it. As for your question though Mateo dear I don't think it's any of your business but to put your mind at ease no we do not _do_ things. I honestly don't see the point as I can't procreate and Isolde has said she has no interest in such things. We do occasionally kiss and hug but that's about as scandalous as we get. Since you brought it up though I do feel the pressing need to tell you that not every healthy relationship has a need for sex-"

 

"-Oh don't say it mom! That's gross!" He interrupts, yelling it out at her knowing his face looks like a tomato at this point.

 

"Excuse me but you're the one that brought it up and I will call it what it is. You're thirty years old not twelve Mateo. Now, as I was saying just because you're in a relationship it doesn't mean you need to partake in sex or even in other intimate things such as kissing or hugging. So long as both people are the appropriate age. That age being they are both over eighteen if you need a refresher unless they're both children, and both are consenting to the appropriate actions then there's nothing wrong with any relationship."

 

"Right. Okay can we go now?"

 

"No." 

 

"What? Whyyy noooot?" He whines at her. He really is acting like a child today.

 

"I still haven't heard a thank you." Grace said.

 

She crossed her arms in defiance as Isolde glanced between them like it was a tennis match. He huffs at her in return and thanks her quickly. Ignoring the knowing look Isolde gives him when he does. They get in the car after and are finally on their way with Isolde in the passenger once more and him in the back.

 

Eventually they make their way down the road and make their way into a town. Isolde mentions that there's a dog pound up here somewhere and that they should go check it out to which his mother surprisingly agrees.

 

"But you hate dogs." Five says to them both in surprise.

 

"Reginald hated dogs dear." Grace replies while looking at him through the rearview mirror.

  


They've been in the shelter for ten minutes and Five is fairly certain he hasn't seen the smile she has on leave his mother's face once. It makes him wonder what else he doesn't know about her. What _does_ he know about her? He knows she apparently likes dogs, and women. She's in a committed relationship with a woman and that she's obviously been worried about their reactions to it because they've been dating for a year and not once has she mentioned it. 

 

His mom walks ahead and tries to pet each dog she can while reassuring the others that she isn't a threat. Leaving Five and Isolde to walk far behind her and potentially have a conversation of their own. Not that he wants to have a conversation with the woman. He honestly just wants to go home at this point but given all the information he's had today he knows he won't be able to jump for a while without risking landing in a river or something. Which was exactly why he called his mother in the first place. 

 

"So," Isolde starts to say to him. He turns his head towards he to let her know she has his attention before she continues, "How are you feeling about all of this?"

 

"Learning that I obviously don't know my mother at all? Pretty crappy to be honest."

 

"It's not that you don't know her Five it's just that she was afraid to tell you. To tell any of you to be honest. You're the first one that knows about me."

 

"Wait… but you've been dating for a year? Why did she not tell us? We would've understood… eventually."

 

Isolde takes a deep breath before answering. Five glances towards his mother to see how far away she is as a reflex of something long forgotten. 

 

"Your father made your mother with the complete capabilities of a human but he froze most of them so that he could control her. She can eat, sleep, has emotions and thoughts of her own, preferences for clothing and seasons. She still needs her chair to charge but I have a friend who's working on figuring out a work around. She has a dispensing bag where a stomach would go but doesn't like messing with it so she doesn't eat often. She can taste things though and absolutely loves the taste of lemon for some reason. I personally can't stand the stuff. It's too sour for me."

 

A high pitched whine followed by a sharp bark catches his attention before he can answer. A big scruffy dog runs straight towards them and headbutts him against his legs before he can move out of the way. It whines even more when Five goes to pet its face. When he finally gets the dog to settle down minutes later a brown haired man jogs up to him seconds after breathing heavy and carrying a broken leash making the dog go off again.

 

"I'm so sorry! I was trying to take her to the back and she broke out. Today's her last day and well… she's a fighter but no one seems to want her."

 

Five starts petting the dog absentmindedly to try to calm it down again. The worker tells them that the dog is a girl and that her name is Oswald. Five narrows his eyes and decides right then and there that he's taking this dog home if only to give her a better name than Oswald.

 

"Where did the name come from?" Isolde asks from beside him while petting the dogs' back.

 

"After the octopus cartoon. The family that dropped her off was obsessed with the show and named her."

 

"Can I adopt her?" He asks the man earnestly.

 

The dog wags her tail at him and he swears she's smiling at him. Vanya is going to be pissed but he doesn't care at this point. He feels an odd connection to the beast and she seems friendly enough. He's sure that he can pay for dog training later on to make sure she's baby friendly. Of course he'll have to go shopping for dog things after this and silently hopes Grace will be okay with it.

 

"Um yeah… I mean I guess. She's up to date on all her shots and stuff. There is a fee though."

 

"That's fine."

 

They decide to split up as Isolde tells him she's going to look for Grace while he signs paperwork. When he's walking with the dog he's surprised to see her walking right by his hip as if she still has a leash on even though they can both clearly see that the worker has it and that she stops or pauses exactly when he does. When they start up again she oddly starts walking with her left foot instead of her right one. 

 

He signs the paperwork fairly quickly and decides on the name Lefty for her in honor of her unique walking. She informs him that Lefty is an English wolfhound which is why she looks so wild and scruffy. When he asks about her temperament the clerk tells him she was a registered service dog but that her kid died soon after getting her and instead of putting her back in the system for another person they brought her to the pound. They didn't know she was registered until it was to late and the pound rules kicked in. 

 

Five frowns at this new piece of information and really wants to figure out where they live so he can kill them. It'd be a service since their kid is dead anyway but they're assholes in general. Unfortunately Grace and Isolde come up next to him before he can ask anything more. 

 

They head to the nearest pet store to get supplies. He decides to get her different colored collars since the clothes won't fit. He's ecstatic when he finds out that he can get Lefty shoes to wear and a rather large raincoat and backpack. He also gets her high grade dog food, bowls, multiple toys and plans to get more things and a bed for her later on. He also decides to take Grace's advice when she tells him he could try to get Lefty registered once more as a service dog since she isn't retired and since her time was so short with her previous person. He's fairly positive she wanted to say handler but refrained from doing so for his sake. 

 

After all of Lefty's things are shoved into the trunk of the car she lays her head down on his leg and he pets her just to give himself something to do as he listens to Isolde and his mom talk about the vacation they took to celebrate their first anniversary. 

 

Vanya is going to be pissed. They may have to sleep at Ben and Klaus's house tonight but he honestly doesn't care. This is his dog and if he ever comes across her previous owners he's going to stab them in their necks with a sharp butter knife.

 

"Vanya is pregnant and that's why I needed you to come get me. I freaked out and then I jumped without thinking so I didn't know where I was and now I have a dog. So she's most likely going to kill me when I get home." He tells them when there's a lull in the conversation.

 

The brakes squeal in protest as Grace makes them swerve off the road accidentally. Instead of barking Lefty braces herself against Five even more like she's afraid he's going to freak out. He's actually rather thankful of her reaction because for a split second that's exactly what he thinks he's going to do until his mother yells at him.

 

"What do you mean Vanya is pregnant?! Why didn't you start with that!"

 

"I was freaking out over it and didn't want to discuss it!" He yells back.

 

"Grace I love you, but I swear to God if you do not stay on the road I am going to kill you!" Isolde screams at them in return.

 

"I swear Mateo sometimes I just want to… Wait you love me?" 

 

The car doesn't move an inch when Grace turns her head towards her girlfriend in disbelief. Five is fairly certain he can see a tear rolling down her cheek but doesn't comment on it.

 

"That's what you got from that? Not the killing part? Seriously?"

 

"You love me." She says in a broken whisper, like she didn't think it was possible.

 

"Before you tried to kill us? Yes. However if you kill me by driving off the road then that may change so please either let me drive or focus. Okay?"

 

"Okay." 

 

Grace purses her lips and Five can tell she wants to say more but the two women seem to be having a conversation only they can understand. Just when he thinks he should say something Isolde leans over to cup her face and kisses his mother. Which seems to be exactly what she wanted as she smiles in return.

 

"Gross." He comments to no one in particular and snickers when Lefty lets out a huff right after.

 

Isolde glares at him from the rearview mirror this time and reminds him that his brothers are gay and that there's nothing wrong with it. 

 

He puts his hands up in defence and exclaimes childishly, "She's my mother. I'm allowed to think it's gross!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you reading my story Take Me Out of The Dark: I may be putting Isolde in it since I see this as an alternative timeline for their adult selves but their jobs will be the same for both stories!!
> 
> Luther: photographer  
> Diego: Chief of police in their district  
> Allison: Lawyer  
> Klaus: Behavioral therapist  
> Five/Mateo: University math teacher  
> Ben: University english teacher  
> Vanya: Highschool music teacher 
> 
> I also want to make it perfectly clear that Grace is SENTIENT and is making her own choices. She and Isolde are also both adults which Grace herself is very clear on. 
> 
> Also for those that don't get the Aurthurian reference: Isolde is another spelling for Isolt who was Tristan's, one of the Knights of the Round Table, aunt, by marraige, and they fell in love due to a love potion but even after the potion wore off the feelings stuck. 
> 
> It's one of my favorite stories and I love the name.
> 
> That being said the author does NOT agree with or condone non-consensual relationships or age gap, teen and adult, relationships!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Already have plans for this to be a multi-chapter. Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?


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